Danish grower PKM is investing in efficiency and stability
Danish company Gartneriet PKM, one of the market leaders in the production of Campanula, is investing in efficiency and stability. PKM aims to reduce labour, improve response times to the market, and create a more stable working environment. In collaboration with WPS, the company developed a delivery system that meets all these requirements, and which is in operation since the beginning of 2017.
The delivery system provides an entirely automated plant sorting method with the aid of a vision system. Plants are buffered at a high rate to achieve maximum capacity and guarantee speed when packing the plants.
Robotics in a video
Take a look at the spacing robot in the video below from the WPS Test Centre:
Breakthrough in transfer and spacing robots
Plants are lifted from benches and placed in a carrier by an industrial robot. After a camera assessment, deliverable plants are separated from plants that are not yet ready to be delivered. The latter are automatically returned to benches.
Previously, linear robots were used for these operations, but innovation by WPS has now made it possible to use industrial robots for this purpose. These robots can be employed more flexibly, e.g. at PKM, where robots are used for two tasks, being grabbing and returning in this case, thereby guaranteeing maximum capacity per hour.
New automated operation in pot plant cultivation with packing robot
WPS is currently working on an innovation that is in high demand: the automatic placement of plants in trays, where plants are taken from plant carriers and placed in the desired tray by a robot. Three robots in total provide automated packing. Each robot has its own tray dispenser and can handle up to 6 different types of trays. A buffer is also created for each tray dispenser, with space for a 250-tray supply. This solution will be in operation at PKM by mid-2017.
More information about the two innovative solutions? Please contact us!
